Retiring Fort Bend judge to be honored at reception

Updated 1:21 pm, Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Judge Thomas Culver III poses with Raydell Crosswhite, center, and Lorie Crawford on the day the two women retired in 2008.

Judge Thomas Culver III poses with Raydell Crosswhite, center, and Lorie Crawford on the day the two women retired in 2008.

Photo: Courtesy

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Judge Thomas Culver III

Judge Thomas Culver III

Photo: Courtesy

Retiring Fort Bend judge to be honored at reception

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A come-and-go reception on Tuesday, June 30, will honor retiring 240th District Judge Thomas Culver III for 38 years of service to Fort Bend County.

"There will be punch and cookies, but no speeches, no program," said Culver, 66, who spent four years as a Fort Bend prosecutor, beginning Jan. 1, 1977, before county commissioners appointed him to a county court at law bench in 1981.

In 1990, Culver was elected to the district court position. He continued in the seat after winning 18 Republican Party primaries and general elections, all of them except one without opposition.

Tuesday's reluctant honoree said, "I just wanted to ride into the sunset with my boots on," but his wife, Fort Bend native Jan Carden Culver, and court coordinator Becky Fisher insisted on hosting a going-away party on his last day with the county.

The public reception from 3:30-5:30 p.m. will be in the 240th District Courtroom, Room E, in the Fort Bend County Justice Center, 1422 Eugene Heimann Circle.

Among the guests planning to attend are Culver's longtime associates: Lorie Crawford, who was his court reporter for 30 years, and Rosenberg native Raydell Crosswhite, the district's court coordinator until both she and Crawford retired in 2008.

"Tommy Culver is not only the finest judge I've ever known; he is the finest man I've ever known," said Crawford, who now lives in Rockport. "I believe he was called to be a judge. He was thoughtful and prayerful in making important decisions. There were times when I sat in the courtroom and wondered what in the world he would do in a particular case. He was insightful, sensitive and creative, while balancing mercy and justice. He treated everyone with respect, from felons to high-profile attorneys, and victims and their families as well as the families of perpetrators."

Crosswhite, who now lives in Boerne, added, "In my heart, Tommy is the best friend and brother I never had. At nights, I still dream that I'm working for him."

Culver agreed that Crawford and Crosswhite "were a big part of our lives." For example, Crosswhite's son, T.R. Bowen of Houston, and Culver's daughter, Courtney Culver Baker, have long been best friends. Baker also lives in Houston, where she and her husband, Andrew "Buck" Baker, are attorneys.

"They are expecting a little boy in September," said the judge, a longtime Richmond resident.

The Culvers already have one grandchild, Thomas Culver V, who is the 3½-year-old son of Thomas Culver IV, who works alongside his mother at her family's longtime Rosenberg business, Garmany & Carden Funeral Directors Inc.

"Leaving office is bittersweet, to be honest," said Culver, "but I am looking forward to the flexibility of serving as a visiting judge so I can enjoy spending time with my grandson and soon-to-be grandchildren."

Culver was born in Abilene, where he graduated from high school before attending Baylor University in Waco, where he met Jan as a fellow student.

"August 18, 1973 was a very busy day," said Culver, explaining that he graduated at 10 o'clock that morning at Baylor Law School, then drove from Waco to Rosenberg "before they improved (Texas) 36," he said, in time to get married at 7 p.m. at First Baptist Church.

"Jan grew up in that church and is still the church pianist," he said. "I started going there in 1973." He has served as a church trustee, deacon and Sunday school teacher, among other positions.